Tennis News Now

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Amanda Anisimova reached the last four of the WTA Finals by beating second-ranked Iga Swiatek 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday. The 24-year-old American earned her second consecutive victory over Swiatek since losing to the Polish player 6-0, 6-0 in the Wimbledon final . Anisimova, ranked No. 4, had also eliminated Swiatek in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Anisimova got the first break of serve in the contest to take the second set to force a decider. She faced only four break points and saved each one. Elena Rybakina, who had already advanced to the semifinals, completed her round-robin phase with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova. Rybakina and Anisimova will learn their semifinal opponents after Thursday’s final round-robin matches: top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka plays defending champion Coco Gauff; and Jessica Pegula faces Jasmine Paolini, who has already been eliminated. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis * This article was originally pub...

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Novak Djokovic battled through a tough opening set before pulling away to defeat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 7-6 (3), 6-1 at the Hellenic Championship on Tuesday, the first top-tier tournament held in Greece in more than 30 years. Both players held their serve under pressure in the first set until Djokovic edged out the tiebreaker. The momentum shifted in the second set, where the top seed broke Tabilo twice and completed the match in just over 90 minutes. Djokovic’s win secured him a spot in the quarterfinals at the ATP 250 event, as elite-level tennis returned to Greece for the first time since 1994. The Telekom Center crowd in Athens offered constant support for the 38-year-old Serb, who moved with his family to Athens earlier this year. “It feels really like home playing in Athens,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview. “More than recognition for my tennis achievements, I felt that people here approached me in a friendly and humane way, and that touched my he...